Finished: The Living Reed, by Pearl S. Buck 📚. A novelization of Korean history from 1881 to 1945, of which I knew essentially nothing before reading. I’m not sure I know how much after - like Buck’s other books, this is quite romanticized, and focused more on personal stories than historical analysis. Slow and lush writing makes for pleasant reading though.
“Mossy Elephants”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 15mm, f/5, 1/125s, ISO 3200. O’Leary Trail west of MacDuff Mountain.
Finished: The Rising Tide, by Jeff Shaara 📚. A historical novel covering WWII’s Mediterranean Front roughly from the tank battles of North Africa to the Allied invasion of Italy. It mixes the prime movers (Rommel, Eisenhower, and so on) with a couple of regular soldiers. As far as I can tell the historical content is accurate, though much of the dialog is clearly imagined. Does a good job of showing the political side of the upper echelons of the military.
“Starflower”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 42mm, f/6.3, 1/15s, ISO 1600. O’Leary Trail west of MacDuff Mountain.
“Sand Two Bits”
Olympus TG-6 @ 5.4mm, f/3.2, 1/800s, ISO 100. At Baker Beach.
The US has a radio-free zone. If we had an AI-free zone, I’d move there.
“By-the-wind Sailor”
Olympus TG-6 @ 7.8mm, f/4, 1/160s, ISO 200. At Baker Beach.
“Loneliness”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 42mm, f/11, 1/1600s, ISO 800. Shot at Baker Beach.
Judge: Trump Administration ‘Unquestionably’ Violated Court Order on Deportations
And they’ll no doubt violate his order of remedies too. The Constitutional crisis is here, and there may not be any way to stop it.
Diseases are spreading. The CDC isn’t warning the public like it was months ago
So the way to make America healthy again is just to claim that there are no diseases. Seems legit.
Trump administration accepts Qatari 747 to serve as Air Force One
Even loud objections from (some) Republican members of Congress isn’t enough to rein in this administration’s blatant corruption.
Prediction: this jet will never fly as Air Force One. It’s going to cost more and take longer to retrofit for security and defense than the Trump people are claiming.
Nice 20-mile hike today. www.alltrails.com/explore/m…
Photos will follow but right now I’m exhausted.
“Sea and Sky”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 14mm, f/11, 1/640s, ISO 320. Morning low tide at Baker Beach.
Trump admin deports immigrants to South Sudan in violation of court order, lawyers say
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that this administration only follows court orders that it likes.
“Run Away!”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 42mm, f/8, 1/500s, ISO 640. Snowy plovers on Baker Beach.
I’m 65 years old and just sewed on a button for the first time ever. It seems to have worked. Old dog, new tricks.
Worst interviewee tic: responding to every single question with “Yeah…well, ,,,” You’re stalling for time while you think of an answer, we know that’s what you’re doing, so just BE QUIET for two seconds to think and then answer. Thank you for coming to my Ted Rant.
“Sentinels”
Olympus E-M10 IV with 14-42 kit lens @ 22mm, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 640. Shot at the north end of Baker Beach.
Finished: Mawson’s Will, by Lennard Bickel 📚. The story of Douglas Mawson’s desperate slog across the Antarctic (featuring, among other things, the excess-Vitamin-A-induced sloughing off of the soles of his feet) remains one of the great tales of human endurance. If you’re not familiar with it, you ought to be, and this is a great retelling of the story.
“Anemones”
Olympus E-M10 IV with M.Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 macro lens @ f/8, 1/160s, ISO 3200. Shot at Baker Beach.
